THUNDER BAY -- Making small changes has a big impact on waste reduction.
That’s the message city officials and EcoSuperior staff are hoping to drive home with the start of Waste Reduction Week, which was kicked off with a media conference at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore on Monday.
Jason Sherband, coordinator of solid waste diversion and recycling, said reusing items around the home while avoiding unnecessary things like plastic shopping bags are effective ways to reduce and divert trash that goes to the curb.
“It’s little things that when you think about how to reduce it becomes quite easy,” Sherband said.
“I always tell people if we don’t produce it in the first place we don’t have to manage it down the line.”
Every year close to 100,000 metric tonnes of solid waste is buried at the John Street Landfill, an amount Sherband calls “significant.”
Waste Reduction Week is a nationally recognized initiative designed to educate about how to limit the amount of materials that is sent away as garbage. Members of the public are being urged to rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, repair and recycle.
ReStore general manager Tyson Neill said the facility is on track to divert more than 225 tonnes of materials from the landfill through donated building materials and furniture that ends up being sold.
“The amount of product that comes through my mind, it boggles my mind that someone would throw this stuff out when it obviously has life left in it to be reused,” Neill said.
The city and EcoSuperior are launching a wide array of initiatives to paint a complete picture of the importance of actively working to reduce waste.
“We have a whole host of activities to promote waste reduction week and to keep that momentum going throughout the year,” Sherband said.
That started on Saturday with an information display being held at the Intercity Shopping Centre by students in the Environmental Technician program at Confederation College. Efforts will continue with public tours of the John Street Landfill and the Reccol recycling plant.
Staff from EcoSuperior will also be visiting 40 classrooms in elementary and high schools over the next two weeks to educate students about recycling and reducing waste.
More information about local activities and the national Waste Reduction Week can be found online.
